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New Household Waste Recycling Centre contract for Oxfordshire announced

Oxfordshire County Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment and Geoff Thompson, owner of W&S Recycling

Oxfordshire County Council confirmed today that it will keep its entire network of seven Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in the county open in the medium term (with no change to opening hours or days they are open) due to a new management contract that has been awarded to W&S Recycling.

The Dorset based firm already manages five of Oxfordshire’s HWRC sites which means there will be minimal disruption to residents when the new contract starts on 1 October 2017. W&S Recycling will manage the HWRC sites at Alkerton, Ardley, Drayton, Oakley Wood, Redbridge, and Stanford in the Vale. Dix Pit HWRC will continue to be managed by FCC Environment.

Household waste remains free to bring to HWRCs

Residents will continue to be able to dispose of all household waste free of charge at any of the county’s recycling centres. Oxfordshire has had a system of charging for non-household waste which includes soil, rubble and DIY waste for 15 years and has not increased the charge of £1 per item over that time. When the new contract starts on 1 October, W&S Recycling will increase the charge for non-household waste items to £1.50 which is less than other authorities who charge for this service. In the HWRC public consultation carried out in summer 2016, 91% of Oxfordshire residents favoured charges for non-household waste over site closures.

Highly valued service

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment said:

“Oxfordshire’s residents told us very clearly that their priority was to see all the HWRCs kept open when the new contract started and I am delighted that we have been able to achieve that.

“Oxfordshire has one of the best recycling rates in the country which is thanks to the hard work of our residents who collectively make a huge difference to the environment by separating out their household waste and recycling as much as they can.

“While the county council does not have a legal obligation to accept non-household waste at HWRCs, this is a popular and highly valued service among local communities and I am therefore pleased that W&S Recycling is able to continue to offer this service, with only a modest price increase. Overall, I am delighted that our HWRC service remains an accessible, affordable service.”

New low-emission vehicle fleet

Geoff Thompson, owner of W&S Recycling said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract and are looking forward to working closely with Oxfordshire County Council to increase recycling rates at sites and continue to make improvements to the HWRCs which we know residents use regularly and value.

“Many Oxfordshire residents already pre-sort their waste and recyclables before visiting their local HWRC but we will be encouraging more residents to do the same as that will help to boost the county’s excellent recycling rate even further. We also plan to invest in a new low-emission vehicle fleet which will be used to transport materials from all of Oxfordshire’s HWRCs to their end destinations.”

Facts and figures

The £27m contract, which starts on 1 October 2017, is for a seven year period with an option to extend for up to a further three years. The Dorset based firm W&S Recycling will manage all of the county’s Household Waste Recycling Centres except for the site at Dix Pit which will continue to be managed by FCC Environment but W&S Recycling will provide management for the recyclable materials. W&S Recycling will take over responsibility for managing the Ardley HWRC which is currently operated by Viridor Waste Management Ltd.

Oxfordshire’s seven Household Waste Recycling Centres accept approximately 50,000 tonnes of household residual waste and recyclables each year with an average recycling rate of around 60%. Residents make over 1.25 million visits to the sites every year.